At every CitiStat review of a department, one of the first topics of conversation is payroll.  In particular, amounts of leave time and overtime incurred.  While overtime costs are driven by a number of factors, such as emergencies, for many City departments the number of people on vacation or out sick on a given day can significantly impact overtime costs.

CitiStat’s analyses of payroll include metrics like sick leave hours as a percent of total working hours or number of employees by sick leave days used in the year.   One of the simplest ways to review payroll is to examine hours of leave and overtime incurred this year compared to the same period of time last year.

In the table below, you find the total hours of sick leave, all paid leave, and overtime incurred by each Division of the Department of Public Works during the first 10 weeks of FY2008 and the first 10 weeks of FY2009.  As you can see, overtime hours have declined considerably (down nearly 1,000 hours or 100 hours per week) since FY2008.  This type of analysis then leads to a further conversation of why hours are down and whether there are lessons to be learned that could be applied in other departments to reduce overtime costs.

Linked to this post is the first progress report on the implementation and impact of the recently launched CitiStat program in the City of Springfield.  CitiStat will likely produce implementation and impact reports such as this between once a quarter and once every six months.  Because this is the first such report, it is particularly detailed in documenting the steps taken to implement the CitiStat program, as well as the impact already achieved.

Through the end of June, CitiStat had held about 55 departmental review meetings with 20 city departments.  One of the key components of any CitiStat program is follow-up and every next step or action item discussed in a CitiStat meeting is tracked and discussed at subsequent meetings.  Through the end of June, CitiStat was tracking 771 follow-up items with about 60 percent of these having been completed.

In May, CitiStat launched a series of NeighborhoodStat meetings, drawing together personnel from multiple departments to review data and discuss issues facing particular neighborhoods.  These cross-departmental meetings are designed to result in creative problem-solving.

More details on the first four months of CitiStat meetings can be found in the attached progress report (CitiStat Progress Report July 2008).

Paul N. Foster 

Paul is the Director of CitiStat Springfield, responsible for the development and management of the CitiStat program and oversight of the 3-1-1 Citizen Service Center. Prior to joining the City of Springfield, Paul was a Policy Analyst with the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, authoring reports on the FY2008 state budget, budget transparency, property tax reform, and education reform proposals. Previously, Paul served for five years as the Manager of the Regional Information Center at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. Paul earned his Master’s degree in Social Policy from Brandeis University’s Heller School and received his Bachelor’s in History and Afro-American Studies from Harvard College.

Jennifer C. Juliano

Jennifer is the Senior CitiStat Analyst with responsibility for assisting in the development and implementation of the CitiStat program. Jennifer has primary responsibility for analysis relative to the Facilities, Parks, Police, Budget, and Information Technology departments. Previously, Jennifer was a Senior Budget Analyst for Baystate Health Systems evaluating the Medical Center’s budget and assisting in determining the best practice for nurse staffing ratios in order to remain fiscally responsible as well as provide excellent patient care. Jennifer is currently in the process of earning her Master’s degree in Business Administration from Western New England College and received her Bachelor’s in Finance and Management from Westfield State College.

Elise Moreau Bernice
Elise is a CitiStat Analyst, primarily responsible for the analysis of the Housing, Buildings, Planning and Economic Development, Community Development, and Fire departments. Before joining the CitiStat team in Springfield, Elise earned her Master’s degree in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. During her time there she focused on educational statistics and specifically performed analysis to assess the performance of an automated tutor in the Pittsburgh Public School System. Prior to graduate school Elise spent a year as a Jesuit Volunteer caseworker for Catholic Social Services in Mobile, Alabama. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Alison L. Newman 
Alison is a CitiStat Analyst, taking the lead in analysis for the Health and Human Services, Elder Affairs, Animal Control, Library, Personnel, and Purchasing departments. Prior to joining the CitiStat team, Alison was a Program Associate for the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, researching and providing reports on various issues relating to individuals with disabilities, such as recreation, health care, criminal justice and self-determination. During her employment with the Council, Alison graduated from New York’s Partners in Policymaking program, a training workshop designed to teach individuals with disabilities and their families how to effectively advocate for cultural, societal and policy change. Alison earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College, and received her Bachelor’s in Public Policy also from the University at Albany.

Since the launch of CitiStat Springfield, three NeighborhoodStat meetings have been held focusing on the South End. Unlike other CitiStat meetings that focus on a single department, NeighborhoodStat brings together operational personnel from multiple city departments to examine data from a variety of sources and collaboratively solve problems. Buildings, Fire, Housing, Health and Human Services, Planning and Economic Development, and Police have been represented at these meetings. While being piloted in the South End, NeighborhoodStat meetings will ultimately be convened to focus on other neighborhoods in the city.

Following is an overview map from the last NeighborhoodStat meeting held in the South End on June 16th. This provides a spatial perspective on the data from and activities of multiple city departments.

To learn more about how Springfield CitiStat is working with all departments to improve city services, view the CitiStat process map (PDF).